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Watson - May can make good on her pledge to take on the ruling elite by blocking Sky deal

Tom Watson says blocking Rupert Murdoch's bid to take over Sky would give credence to the Prime Minister's pledge to 'take on the rich and powerful'.

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Labour deputy leader Tom Watson

21st Century Fox’s proposed £11.7bn bid to take full control of Sky has been provisionally blocked by the UK competition regulator.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the takeover was not in the public interest due to concerns about media plurality.

Labour's deputy leader Mr Watson, a long-time Murdoch critic, has praised the watchdog’s findings and said: "This is the right decision for the UK.”

The West Bromwich East MP has urged Culture Secretary Matt Hancock to accept the decision and block Fox's bid.

He also threw down the gauntlet to Theresa May, urging her to make good on claims she made 18 months ago on the steps of 10 Downing Street to stand up to the ruling elite.

"The phone-hacking affair forced Murdoch to abandon his last attempt to take control of Sky in 2011," he said.

"This time round the company threatened to close it if the deal was blocked, a move that would have resulted in thousands of job losses.

"Journalists and production staff would have paid a heavy price for the company’s petulance had the threat been carried out.

"That is now unlikely to happen because Fox’s entertainment assets – including Sky – are being sold off to the much larger Disney, which is hardly the fairytale ending the Murdoch had envisaged.

"If the bid is indeed blocked, it will be the first example of May standing up to the rich and powerful since she first promised to do so on the steps of Downing Street 18 months ago.

"She probably wasn’t thinking of Murdoch when she said it, but events have a way of overtaking this prime minister. Now they are overtaking the Murdochs too."

The CMA’s announcement is the latest stage of the long-running saga of whether Fox, which is controlled by Mr Murdoch and his sons Lachlan and James, will take over Sky.

It began in December 2016 when Fox announced it was bidding for the 61 per cent of Sky it did not already own.

The deal was referred to the CMA for an investigation last September by Karen Bradley, the then Culture Secretary, after an investigation by media regulator Ofcom.

Last month Fox announced the sale of most of its entertainment assets – including its 39 per cent stake in Sky – to Disney.